Making Ends Meet With Movie Extra Work
By: Heidi York
Updated: September 22, 2009
An unexpected lay-off took Jimmy Blaine by surprise, then just two weeks later his girlfriend lost her job too. With few employment options on the horizon, Blaine turned to showbiz to bring in a paycheck to support his family.
“Bills don't stop coming in just because you lose your job,” said Blaine.
After working in retail management for several years, he’s now working on the big screen. Since his layoff last month he’s had extra rolls in the movies, “Straw Dogs” and “Battle: Los Angeles”.
“The days are a lot longer versus doing basic eight to five jobs. You’re working anywhere from six, seven in the morning till seven, eight at night. It can be anywhere from ten to twelve hour shifts,” he added.
When it comes to bringing home a paycheck, those long hours are just the ticket. This dad knows his most important roll is making sure his eight-month-old son, Connor has everything he needs.
“I needed some income coming in so we could continue to pay for benefits for him.”
Blaine hopes “Hollywood South” will bring more opportunities to make ends meet, but holds out hope for a longterm career opportunity.
“I just continue to know that opportunities are always out there. Sometimes it pops up at the last minute, sometimes it falls right in your lap, and sometimes it may take a little longer, but a door will always open,” said Blaine.
WANT TO BE AN EXTRA?
Local casting directors need all types of people to be extras when movies come to town. If you're interested in doing movie extra work, you need a picture of yourself. It doesn’t have to be a professional headshot. You can take it with your digital camera, but don’t use a cell-phone picture. Log onto www.gloriosocasting.comand click on “Get Into The Scene”. There you can upload your picture and fill out the information to become a movie extra.
“Bills don't stop coming in just because you lose your job,” said Blaine.
After working in retail management for several years, he’s now working on the big screen. Since his layoff last month he’s had extra rolls in the movies, “Straw Dogs” and “Battle: Los Angeles”.
“The days are a lot longer versus doing basic eight to five jobs. You’re working anywhere from six, seven in the morning till seven, eight at night. It can be anywhere from ten to twelve hour shifts,” he added.
When it comes to bringing home a paycheck, those long hours are just the ticket. This dad knows his most important roll is making sure his eight-month-old son, Connor has everything he needs.
“I needed some income coming in so we could continue to pay for benefits for him.”
Blaine hopes “Hollywood South” will bring more opportunities to make ends meet, but holds out hope for a longterm career opportunity.
“I just continue to know that opportunities are always out there. Sometimes it pops up at the last minute, sometimes it falls right in your lap, and sometimes it may take a little longer, but a door will always open,” said Blaine.
WANT TO BE AN EXTRA?
Local casting directors need all types of people to be extras when movies come to town. If you're interested in doing movie extra work, you need a picture of yourself. It doesn’t have to be a professional headshot. You can take it with your digital camera, but don’t use a cell-phone picture. Log onto www.gloriosocasting.comand click on “Get Into The Scene”. There you can upload your picture and fill out the information to become a movie extra.
